This book, about the complex up-and-down relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Catherine de Medici, is very detailed; but in places we quite lose sight of that relationship. Paranque describes at length the lives of the two women before they interacted; and, even after that time; she will describe in great detail events such as, for example, the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots. The sources of some of the speeches and letters are footnoted, but most are not, and in those cases it seems to me that the author has invented dialogue, pauses, and facial gestures like smiles; and then the book reads like a novel.
Elizabeth and Catherine began to interact when Elizabeth became Queen in 1559. Her predecessor and half-sister, Mary Tudor, had been at war with France and had lost Calais. On her accession, Elizabeth wanted Calais to be returned to England. A compromise was reached: by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, the French were to keep the town for eight years, after which they would either return it or pay England 500,000 crowns.
During the tournament to celebrate this treaty, Catherine’s husband, Henri II, was killed; and Catherine was now the mother of four young brothers, one of whom, Francis II, now became king; two of his brothers, Charles IX and Henri III would succeed him. The youngest brother was Francis, Duke of Alençon.
Francis II was married to Mary, Queen of Scots, who had a claim on the English throne, and the young couple sported the arms of England. Mary’s mother, Marie de Guise, was her regent in Scotland, and was much hated by the protestant lords there whom Elizabeth supported and with whom she signed the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 which Mary Stuart refused to ratify.
Francis II died of an ear infection at the end of that year, and Mary left France for Scotland in 1561. The new king, Charles IX, was just nine years old, and Catherine formally became Regent. She was determined to be on good terms with Elizabeth, and wanted to cement their relationship by proposing, in turn, Charles, Henry and Francis as husbands for her. Elizabeth, determined not to marry, would turn them all down, all the while protesting her friendship with Catherine. But she supported the Huguenots in the eight religious civil wars in France between 1562 and 1593, which of course put a strain on the relationship between the two women. So did Catherine’s protests to Elizabeth about the imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots when she fled to England from an uprising of her Scottish subjects. The eventual execution of Mary, Catherine’s former daughter-in-law, in 1587, was another low point.
However, it was in both their interests to oppose the ambitions of Spain, and they had made the Treaty of Blois in 1572, agreeing to send help to the Netherlands in their revolt against Spain which began that year. Elizabeth was horrified by the St Bartholomew massacre of the Huguenots which took place later that year during the celebrations of the wedding Catherine had arranged between her daughter Margaret and the Huguenot Henry of Navarre; but the French ambassador assured her that Catherine and Charles IX had had nothing to do with the massacre, and she maintained the alliance she had just made with France.
(Most historians have said that Catherine had ordered the massacre; but Paranque argues that she would not possibly have done this, given that she had herself arranged the wedding. Paranque blames blames the fanatically Catholic Guise family.)
In 1585 relations between Elizabeth and Catherine and King Henry III took a sharp dip: an English Catholic plotter against Elizabeth’s life had escaped to France, and Elizabeth demanded he be returned to England. Henry III could not afford to do that: the eighth and longest and bloodiest of the civil wars was raging, and the Guise family was lording it over the King. Henry III was trying to debar the Protestant Henry of Navarre, the next heir to the throne, from the succession. Elizabeth supported Henry of Navarre. She did not stop Drake and his privateers from attacking and plundering, not only Spanish, but also French’s ships.
Catherine now saw Elizabeth as her enemy; but Henry III, irked by the power of the Guises, tried to mend fences: they were after all both threatened by Spain. Catherine could do nothing about this: she was severely ill and died in 1589.
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From the Publisher
In sixteenth-century Europe, two women came to hold all the power, against all the odds.
They were Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici.
One a Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these iconic women. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: thirty years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe.
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Customer reviews
I pre-ordered Blood, Fire and Gold in December. Having followed some of the authors productions, I was excited to read about the relationship and transactions of two incredible women, in a time when women didn't have a clear voice.I have long been intrigued with the Italian Renaissance especially the Medici and even though I have a reasonably good knowledge of the infamous family, I felt like I was learning all over again, discovering details in new and excitable way!This book is excellent for those new to the subjects or those who are well versed in these two kingdoms.Wonderfully compelling and utterly engaging!Looking forward to the next book, whatever that may be.
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Top reviews from United Kingdom
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2022
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2022
I have long been intrigued with the Italian Renaissance especially the Medici and even though I have a reasonably good knowledge of the infamous family, I felt like I was learning all over again, discovering details in new and excitable way!
This book is excellent for those new to the subjects or those who are well versed in these two kingdoms.
Wonderfully compelling and utterly engaging!
Looking forward to the next book, whatever that may be.
Compelling & engaging!
By angharad on 1 July 2022
I pre-ordered Blood, Fire and Gold in December. Having followed some of the authors productions, I was excited to read about the relationship and transactions of two incredible women, in a time when women didn't have a clear voice.By angharad on 1 July 2022
I have long been intrigued with the Italian Renaissance especially the Medici and even though I have a reasonably good knowledge of the infamous family, I felt like I was learning all over again, discovering details in new and excitable way!
This book is excellent for those new to the subjects or those who are well versed in these two kingdoms.
Wonderfully compelling and utterly engaging!
Looking forward to the next book, whatever that may be.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2022
Instead, 'Blood, Fire and Gold' offers an insightful and colourfully fleshed out account of the relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, which altered the course of European history.
There are areas where the author has built dialogue between key historical figures, based on records of their meetings and the outcomes of them. This shows such amazing flair, and the ability to put expert knowledge and creative interpretation together is rare. All of a sudden, these distant figures felt real to me.
This book was a pleasure to read. It has reignited a love for historical non-fiction, which I haven't accessed in years.
History with lifeblood injected...
By Hollie Robinson-Perry on 20 July 2022
This does NOT read like a history textbook.By Hollie Robinson-Perry on 20 July 2022
Instead, 'Blood, Fire and Gold' offers an insightful and colourfully fleshed out account of the relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, which altered the course of European history.
There are areas where the author has built dialogue between key historical figures, based on records of their meetings and the outcomes of them. This shows such amazing flair, and the ability to put expert knowledge and creative interpretation together is rare. All of a sudden, these distant figures felt real to me.
This book was a pleasure to read. It has reignited a love for historical non-fiction, which I haven't accessed in years.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2022
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2022
A breathtaking study
By Dr Owen Emmerson on 17 July 2022
BLOOD, FIRE & GOLD is a breathtaking study of the competitive and conflictive relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Catherine de Medici. Estelle Paranque’s fresh and compelling narrative approach is the perfect style in which to convey this extraordinary story of the rivalry, intrigue and heartbreak which defined their reigns. Impressively balancing a cinematic approach with a rigorous scholarly lens, this glorious study breaks new ground in terms of both style and substance. Perhaps most importantly, it gives us unrivalled access to a landscape in which female power and agency was experienced and exercised in early modern Europe. It is an extraordinary achievement.
By Dr Owen Emmerson on 17 July 2022
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